Armed police nab British fugitive relaxing by pool in Spanish resort

In this photo released Sunday May 12, 2013, by the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), showing British fugitive Andrew Moran in this undated photo. Spain's Interior Ministry officials say Spanish police arrested Moran on Friday May 10, as he relaxed next to the pool of a luxury villa in Alicante, Spain. Moran has been on the run since 2009 when he assaulted four security guards, vaulted over the court dock during his trial and escaped, and was listed among the most wanted British fugitives on the loose in Spain. (AP Photo/SOCA)
(The Associated Press)

MADRID – Spain has arrested a British fugitive who had been on the run since giving his police escort the slip during a 2009 trial in the United Kingdom.

Spain's Interior Ministry said in a statement that Andrew Terence Moran was nabbed Friday afternoon in a dramatic raid at a luxury villa in Calpe, a resort on the Alicante coast. According to Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, armed officers swooped in on him as he relaxed beside a pool.

Moran was on trial on allegations involving armed robbery; authorities describe him as dangerous.

During his escape in 2009, Moran assaulted four security guards and vaulted over the courtroom dock. When Spanish police tried to capture him last November, he managed to flee after using a vehicle to ram two belonging to police.